FRP #032 The beginning...

ProjectPuma

Help Support ProjectPuma:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

xnbradley

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2016
Messages
167
Location
Odiham, Hampshire
Hey there...

Thought I would start a project...

So I bought #032 two weeks ago and to be honest... I have not stopped driving it... you know that feeling you get when you are going on holiday... some where you have always wanted to go and you have sorted everything out and everything is packed... you have left a key with the neighbours and you have arrived at the airport and you have just walked through security... and you can finally forget about everything back at home... the bills... the DIY... work... and all you need to do is relax and wait to board the plane... that nervous excitement... care free place is what I feel every time I open the door of my FRP and turn the key... I am hooked...

So before buying #032... I bought this... a 2001 Puma 1.7 'Black Edition... the exterior is a bit rusty and part of the front bumper is missing... but the interior is almost as new... and it is the actual black interior as apposed to the very dark blue that is in the FRP's...
IMG_1346.JPG
Now #032 was in excellent condition mechanically and exterior was ok... but the interior was a little worn,,, scratches and scuffs on door cards and panels... so I had an idea... why not swap the interiors over...
IMG_1615.JPG
IMG_1618.JPG
I now have all four rear panels in my lounge ready to have the colour parts swapped over...

Once I have got myself some proper tools... I am even going to swap the dash boards over... so then all the interior in #032 will be as new and black... good thing the wife and kids are away this weekend...

no doubt I will keep you updated... by the way... I have never done anything to a car before this... I am going to learn stuff as I go... with probably allot of help from all you people...

peace...
 
Hey there...

I feel a little overwhelmed... just been looking through Barry's project on here... think I am well out of my depth... having removed everything out of the back of the FRP... it looks like I am going to have to sort out some rust on the inside... which I haven't got a clue how to do...

I really want to get rid of all the rust... get it completely treated... sealed and protected... so it lasts a long time... but it seems like too big a task at the moment... so I am just gonna focus on the interior..

The guy I bought it from up in Aberdeen owns his own Motorsport company and I don't know for sure what he has done to it and what he has changed... I think he used it to do some road rallying in Scotland..

oh well... I have a few years to get it sorted... I have been recommended a really good coachwork guy based locally in Odiham... think I will take a drive up to meet him next weekend and see what he thinks... I kinda want to be involved and get on with stuff that I can do... and leave the bigger stuff to him...

one day I would love to pay a mechanic to remove the engine.. take it completely apart... clean and service it and then put it back together again... but I would want to be allowed to work along side him and learn/assist at the same time...

better get some sleep... puppy wakes up at 6.30am..

peace...
 
Mornin' Xn.

If you want an idea how bad FRP's rust, and how difficult / expensive they can be to fix, check out my thread.

http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?t=28244

What you going to do with the original interior, that could fund a lot of the work you need to do
 
Hey there...

Just read through ya project... seems that I have a similar conditioned car.., I will get some photos up of the worst bits of the Rust to see what ya think...

I am simply putting the old dark blue door cards and panels into the Black Edition... so I can sell on to raise money for the FRP..

It's gonna take me over a year to be able to afford getting it all sorted..

oh well...
 
Hi Mate
That panel that's been bent is still available as a new part as both James (XAF) and I have recently bought one as for all the rest of the rust shown it is repairable as sills and maybe???? rear wings are now being produced by expressed panels. There is a lot of metal/rust that wants cutting out and replacing but it's all do-able if you find a good welder. The one place you need to check out is the chassis rail around the location of the rear beam mounting (where the brackets with the four bolts are). If this is rotten it's more difficult to repair as it's thicker gauge steel and you have to be careful not to knock the rear axle out of alignment. I would say if the car is a genuine FRP it's worth doing but you need to keep the FRP door cards and interior.
If you want to have your engine refreshed Chris (El Dude) on here offers the service you want at a reasonable cost.
Good luck
Barry
 
all back together with the new back panels...

mjkhghj.jpg

I have to focus on the house now... family back soon...

hope you have a good week...

oh yeah... I am gonna de-fuzz the carpet and see how it comes up... may keep it...

Thanks for all ya help... no doubt there will be more questions...
 
just been looking online at how to remove dash board... looks a nightmare...

Plan B... swap back the door cards and panels and keep the very dark blue...

will just see if I can polish out some of the scuffs...

what a waste of time... well I learnt allot...

peace...
 
The dark blue (I think the official trim colour is alchemy) standard in all cars i think? You could look at getting some good condition door cards from another puma that isn't a black or thunder and using those instead?

I might be wrong but hopefully someone will be along to confirm or correct!
 
Hey there...

I think you are right...

Alchemy - Dark Blue - 15/06/1997 to 15/09/2000
Midnight Black - Black - 15/09/2000 to 11/12/2001

I have been looking at some photos on the forum and it appears a few people have different colour dash/cards/panels...

Looking at XAFs photo in his project it kinda looks like the card is Midnight Black and the dash is Alchemy... could be just the light in the photo...

67419B04-FFC4-4EA2-82AE-29C3488E4648_zpsspa1yu6g.jpg

definitely going to fit the original Alchemy cards/panels... just have to look into a good way of removing scuffs etc...

Cheers
 
xnbradley said:
[post]357657[/post] Hey there...

I think you are right...

Alchemy - Dark Blue - 15/06/1997 to 15/09/2000
Midnight Black - Black - 15/09/2000 to 11/12/2001

I have been looking at some photos on the forum and it appears a few people have different colour dash/cards/panels...

Looking at XAFs photo in his project it kinda looks like the card is Midnight Black and the dash is Alchemy... could be just the light in the photo...



definitely going to fit the original Alchemy cards/panels... just have to look into a good way of removing scuffs etc...

Cheers

Evening mate. Mine is all totally original, so Alchemy dash, door cards, steering wheel etc, complete with grills in the rear panels (although it now has the Ford Platinum sound system to go with it even though the FRP's technically never had it...)

All the early Puma's (up to September 2000) had Alchemy interiors, that included all the FRP's. Mine was one of the last with the donor car being built in April 2000 and converted in November 2000.

Pictures can be confusing. I've often seen the Millenium interiors being referred to as black, but they're not, they're Alchemy too as Barry and I can attest to, as we've both stripped a set down and dyed them midnight black to match our later cars. For me, that's my black on not the FRP!
 
Hey there...

I presumed that it all would be... must be the light in the photo... I think I am gonna have to just limit myself to do one thing at a time... seems like too big a job to do when I look at it all... Novembers task is going to get the air box mod done...

No doubt will be back for advice...

Does the platinum sound system have a separate amp or is it all in the head unit?

cheers
 
i meant no offence by my comment by the way...

this is all very new to me and I realise that I want to be where you and Barry are but don't want to put all the time... effort and money... I gotta learn to stand... let alone walk before I try running...

difficult though as every time I start her up I just get carried away...

apologies for my newbyness... I'm sure it will go in time...

peace...
 
xnbradley said:
[post]357660[/post] i meant no offence by my comment by the way...

this is all very new to me and I realise that I want to be where you and Barry are but don't want to put all the time... effort and money... I gotta learn to stand... let alone walk before I try running...

difficult though as every time I start her up I just get carried away...

apologies for my newbyness... I'm sure it will go in time...

peace...

No offense taken, not at all so no worries!

The Platinum Sound has a separate amp and crossover in the boot:



The amp is the silver bit, the crossover is behind the carpet. The rear speaker pods are different too with a sub in the lower section in line with the grilles. It doesn't sound that much better to be honest!
 
Depends on how much you pay the tester :)
Seriously no it shouldn't pass the MOT as the corrosion to the sills is pretty bad but at least they can be replaced now.
Barry
 
I know that it is almost an impossible question to answer... but was just wondering how much do you think it is going to cost to get it through the MOT...

Rough idea... are we talking £100s or £1000s?

Thanks
 
Well a pair of sills is £250 apprx plus work to the bottom of the rear wings as it's an FRP plus if they're not already done the 4 short brake pipes. Then other sundry work to the inner sills and floors I can't see you getting much change out of £1,000 to get it done properly. I should have a look at my earlier post on here regarding the rear beam mounts as if they have gone it's a lot more work.
Barry
 

Latest posts

Back
Top